Player ratings: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Fulham
Written by George Rossiter on 3rd September 2022
George Rossiter reviews Fulham’s player’s performances after a narrow defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Fulham fell to a second defeat of the season against Tottenham, with a late rally on the Spurs goal not quite enough to send the 3000+ Fulham fans home with a point. All eyes now turn to the derby next weekend.
Bernd Leno
Our German between the sticks was the biggest reason the game wasn’t put to bed long before full time. Leno made a number of brilliant saves, especially from one-on-one scenarios, to keep Fulham in with a fighting chance. Hopefully a lot more of that shot-stopping ability to come in the colours of Fulham. 8.5/10 – Man of the match.
Kenny Tete
Tete was the standout man in the Fulham back-line, coping admirably against Son and Sessegnon for the most part on the Fulham right. With Mbabu not yet to show enough to take his place at right back, it’s good to see how well Tete copes one-on-one in games against the strongest teams in the Premier League. Also provided the assist for our goal. 7.5/10.
Tosin
For the first time, Tosin looked the more astute of the Fulham centre-back pairing and made a few important blocks. Both goals coming from in and around the six yard box isn’t ideal, but equally it would be hard to fault Tosin or Ream for either. 6.5/10.
Tim Ream
This was probably the game Ream struggled most in so far this season. Our American struggled, especially against Richarlison who nutmegged him on one or two occasions and got in behind our back-line a few times. Tim did make a huge block in the first half, but overall a less admirable performance than previous games. 6/10.
Antonee Robinson
Embed from Getty ImagesA real shame to see Jedi come off in the first half, especially after how strongly the left back has started the season and with no Kurzawa waiting on the bench. Hopefully it won’t be a long time out for Robinson. 6.5/10.
Joao Palhinha
Like Ream, this was the game Palhinha didn’t appear to excel in as much. He was challenged more than in previous games by Hojbjerg and Bentancur and didn’t have a big effect on the game from deep, picking up a fourth yellow card of the season also. 6/10.
Harrison Reed
Similarly to the Arsenal game, Fulham’s set up, especially in the first half, was quite reliant on shape and playing narrowly, which in turn effected how Reed played his game in the middle, having a quiet effect on the game, though not through a lack of effort. 6.5/10.
Andreas Pereira
A fairly anonymous performance as Tottenham dominated the midfield and controlled the game, especially in the first half. Pereira had rare joy finding space in between the strength in Tottenham’s midfield and the solidity of their back three. 6/10.
Bobby De-Cordova Reid
Similarly for Bobby, finding space and opportunities in a game mainly played in the Fulham half was tricky and he struggled to regularly find the ball or create any problems for Sessegnon and Lenglet on the left side of Tottenham’s defence. 6/10.
Neeskens Kebano
Kebano had a little more joy than Pereira and De-Cordova Reid, creating a few problems for Emerson Royal and looking as dangerous as you would expect. Like Bobby, you’d imagine performances need to be at a high level with newly added competition in the squad. 6.5/10.
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Caused issues for the Tottenham defence, frequently coming in off the left and troubling Emerson and Romero. Scored a superb consolation late on to make it six goals in six games. Unlucky only to have one as a number of deflected efforts nearly looped beyond Lloris. Mitro continues to prove his worth as a Premier League player. 7.5/10.
Substitutes
Kevin Mbabu (29’ for Antonee Robinson)
It feels harsh to criticize Mbabu too harshly as he was out of position on the left, but the Swiss signing was poor. He frequently struggled against Richarlison and looked poor defensively. 4.5/10.
Willian (60’ for Neeskens Kebano)
The newly-signed Brazilian showed glimmers of class on his debut but struggled to impact the game too much. 6/10.
Dan James (60’ for Bobby De-Cordova Reid)
Similarly to Willian, showed what he has to offer with his electrifying pace, but also struggled to impact the game off the bench. 6/10.
Tom Cairney (60’ for Andreas Pereira)
Cairney struggled similarly to Pereira with finding space in the Tottenham backline and created little. 6/10.
Carlos Vinicius (85’ for Joao Palhinha)
Thrown on as Fulham looked for a late point but we’ve not yet seen what the new Brazilian forward is capable of. 6/10.
